Comparison of integrated numerical experiments with accelerator and FEL experiments

Abstract

Even at the conceptual level, the strong coupling between the laser subsystem elements, such as the accelerator, wiggler, optics, and control, greatly complicates the understanding and design of a free-electron laser (FEL). Given the requirements for a high-performance FEL, the coupling between the laser subsystems must be included in the design approach. To address the subsystem coupling, we implemented the concept of an integrated numerical experiment (INEX). Unique features of the INEX approach are consistency and numerical equivalence of experimental diagnostics. The equivalent numerical diagnostics mitigate the major problem of misinterpretation that often occurs when theoretical and experimental data are compared. A complete INEX model has been applied to the 10-micrometers high-extraction-efficiency experiment at Los Alamos and the 0.6-micrometers Burst Mode experiment at Boeing Aerospace. In addition, the agreement between INEX and the experiments is very good. With the INEX approach, it now appears possible to design high-performance FELs for numerous applications. The first full-scale test of the INEX approach is the Los Alamos High-Brightness Accelerator FEL (HIBAF) experiment. Implementation and experimental validation of the INEX concept are discussed.